One of the several notable landmarks in Bacolod City is the Bacolod Public Plaza, which is found very near the city hall and right across the San Sebastian Cathedral. The plaza is a trapezoidal park with a belt of trees all around the periphery and a gazeebo/bandstand at the center. Scattered within the trees are four circular fountains.

The Plaza was constructed back in 1927 as a place for recreation and cultural activities; it seems to be quite a popular site for outdoor concerts and the like (possibly because of minimal rental fees, unlike with malls and gymnasiums). The gazeebo/bandstand is often where the stage is located and this is quite apt since inscribed along the sides of the roofing are the names of Western musical composers. Beethoven, Wagner, Haydn, and Mozart are the only four names I can verify from pictures in Flickr though the Bacolod City website says Bach is also there. (Hmmm, why Western composers? Why not Filipino or even Negrense musicians?)

According to this mirrored BusinessWorld article, when Bacolod became a chartered city, President Manuel Quezon (together with Governor Valeriano Gatuslao) planted a tindalo tree (Afzelia rhomboidea) at the Plaza to commemorate the event. This tree is being preserved due to its historical significance. (I have no idea which tree this is from the satellite image.)

Unfortunately, like many other parks and plazas throughout the country, the Bacolod Public Plaza had been neglected and had fallen into seedy disrepute as a place where prostitutes, vagrants, homeless people, and substance abusers converge. This has been remedied in recent years through the efforts of the city government, and the Plaza is now a proper family place again.